Use this short video "Blogs in Plain English" to find you answer.
Reasons for use
Blogs are websites in which users post their thoughts, writings, images, widgets, videos, and whatever else they would like to share with an audience online. Other can view and comment on what the author posts. It provides students with ownership over their own learning.
describe what worked for you in the classroom or what didn't work
provide some teaching tips for other teachers
write about something you learned from another teacher
explain teaching insights you gain from what happens in your classes
share ideas for teaching activities or language games to use in the classroom
provide some how-to's on using specific technology in the class, describing how you used this technology in your own class
explore important teaching and learning issues
You might start a class blog to . . .
post class-related information such as calendars, events, homework assignments, and other pertinent class information
post assignments based on literature readings and have students respond on their own blogs, creating a kind of portfolio of their work
communicate with parents
post prompts for writing
provide examples of classwork, vocabulary activities, or grammar games
provide online readings for your students to read and react to
gather and organize Internet resources for a specific course, providing links to appropriate sites and annotating the links as to what is relevant about them
post photos and comment on class activities
invite student comments or postings on issues in order to give them a writing voice
publish examples of good student writing
showcase student art, poetry, and creative stories
create a dynamic teaching site, posting not only class-related information, but also activities, discussion topics, links to additional information about topics they are studying in class, and readings to inspire learning
create a literature circle (where groups of students read and discuss the same book)
create on online book club
make use of the commenting feature to have students publish messages on topics being used to develop language skills
ask students to create their own individual course blogs, where they can post their own ideas, reactions, and written work
post tasks to carry out project-based learning tasks with students
build a class newsletter, using student-written articles and photos they take
link your class with another class somewhere in the world
You can encourage your students to blog . . .
their reactions to thought-provoking questions
their reactions to photos and content you post
journal entries
results of surveys they carry out as part of a class unit
their homework
their ideas and opinions about topics discussed in class
You can have your students create their own blogs to . . .
learn how to blog
complete class writing assignments
create an ongoing portfolio of samples of their writing]
express their opinions on topics you are studying in class
write comments, opinions, or questions on daily news items or issues of interest
discuss activities they did in class and tell what they think about them
write about class topics, using newly learned vocabulary words and idioms
showcase their best writing pieces
You can also ask your class to create a shared blog to . . .
complete project work in small groups, assigning each group a different task
showcase products of project-based learning
complete a WebQuest
Here is a list of blogs that Jennifer Dorman from Discovery Educators (http://jdorman.wikispaces.com/blogworkshop) that you can look at to see how they can be utilized in your classroom.
What is a blog?
Use this short video "Blogs in Plain English" to find you answer.Reasons for use
Blogs are websites in which users post their thoughts, writings, images, widgets, videos, and whatever else they would like to share with an audience online. Other can view and comment on what the author posts. It provides students with ownership over their own learning.Content Ideas for Blogs
Here is a list of blog integration ideas from Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms (Will Richardson), pages 40-42
You might like to create a reflective, journal-type blog to . . .
- reflect on your teaching experiences
- keep a log of teacher-training experiences
- write a description of a specific teaching unit
- describe what worked for you in the classroom or what didn't work
- provide some teaching tips for other teachers
- write about something you learned from another teacher
- explain teaching insights you gain from what happens in your classes
- share ideas for teaching activities or language games to use in the classroom
- provide some how-to's on using specific technology in the class, describing how you used this technology in your own class
- explore important teaching and learning issues
You might start a class blog to . . .You can encourage your students to blog . . .
- their reactions to thought-provoking questions
- their reactions to photos and content you post
- journal entries
- results of surveys they carry out as part of a class unit
- their homework
- their ideas and opinions about topics discussed in class
You can have your students create their own blogs to . . .You can also ask your class to create a shared blog to . . .
Here is a list of blogs that Jennifer Dorman from Discovery Educators (http://jdorman.wikispaces.com/blogworkshop) that you can look at to see how they can be utilized in your classroom.
Video "Why let our students blog?"